The Pigeon Drop
The Story
A team of two or three con artists works together. One 'finds' a wallet or envelope full of cash in front of the victim. Another con artist appears and suggests they split the money. The first con artist agrees but says they need to verify it's not stolen or marked. They convince the victim to show good faith by withdrawing their own 'good' money from the bank to hold as collateral. The con artists take the victim's real money and disappear, leaving them with a bag of cut-up paper.
🚩 Red Flags
- Strangers finding money and involving you
- A deal that seems too good to be true
- Pressure to act quickly and secretly
- Request for you to provide 'good faith' money
- Complex rules about why you can't just take the found money
⚖️ The Fallout
Victims often lose their life savings. The crime is difficult to prosecute as the teams are highly mobile and the victims are often poor witnesses due to shock and embarrassment.
📚 Lessons Learned
Never trust strangers with money. Never withdraw money for a stranger. Real finders of large sums of money would turn it into the police.
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